For those nearly 150 years the main product of Brooks has had a strong tie back to the latter 19th century and the Brooks bicycle saddle being relatively unchanged over that period. A single piece of thick hide attached to steel supports by copper rivets, kept in tension via a threaded rod under the nose and held in the seatpost by solid steel rails. These saddles are quite heavy and very durable.

The last year saw the introduction of an entirely new saddle designed by IDEO team, the Brooks C17 Cambium, that uses modern materials but still owes allegiance to the traditional leather saddle. The seat, that preserves the image of manufacturing saddlery, has “rivets” that are actually bolts with Torx heads on the bottom. In addition, the rails are hollow, the rear frame is aluminium and the top is comprised of vulcanized natural rubber with organic cotton canvas with light waterproof finish as both structural support and the seating surface. Unlike a leather saddle, this one was completely unfazed by getting soaking wet, but dries very quickly and requires no break-in or maintenance. The surface is quite rough, which made it harder to keep clean (as regards the white version) than a smooth surface but also meant it was good at keeping one’s bottom in place. In addition to it can be considered the Brooks saddle version for vegan target.

The extension of this new product, saw the birth of an interesting partnership between Brooks and Levi’s to produce the C17 version Brooks Cambium with Levi’s® denim recycled fibers. The public is invited to bring the used denim in one of three Levi’s ® Commuter Workspaces (Brooklyn, Los Angeles and London) and donate it to be used in the manufacture of saddles.